How does consumer-driven health care motivate the health care system to become more productive?
Decreased levels of insurance unquestionably lead to lower expenditures. In a large, multi-year experiment, for example, those with $1000 deductible insurance policies spent substantially less, while the health status of the middle-class people remained the same. These results were confirmed in studies by Aetna, United Healthcare, and McKinsey: substantial cost control, for example, $479 per employee per month versus. $627 for the industry; eight percent higher use of preventive services; fewer flare-ups for diabetics and asthmatics; and increased compliance for victims of diabetes and high blood pressure. Yet, high-deductible insurance’s impact on demand is limited because most catastrophic expenses remain fully insured and if deductibles are not adjusted for income, the average American family, with median income of $52,000, may struggle with a $2000 deductible (although the health savings account enables low-income people to accumulate assets for uninsured care). So, how will consum
